Friday 7 April 2023

Suggestion: Why Inclusive Surcharge-free Data Roaming on Smartphones is Important for Overseas Tourists (& Vice Versa) to Navigate Public Transport, and To Purchase E-Tickets etc.

In this article I’m going to look at the technology which is heavily used for public transport by staff and passengers themselves.

As technology keeps advancing, increasing numbers of people are becoming dependent on smartphones for a range of different uses, such as journey planning (TfL Go), navigation (Google Maps), messaging (WhatsApp, Viber, etc.) and purchasing e-tickets, etc.

This article is in response to the London TravelWatch campaign on Digital Exclusion, as they stated that "1 in 6 people in London say they are unable to buy a ticket as they can’t use or don’t have access to a smartphone or internet connection".

I first raised that issue to London TravelWatch on Twitter, and they noted the issue I raised regarding international visitors to London (and elsewhere in the UK), which may be mentioned in their upcoming report.

Currently, smartphone users can download a map of an area to their Google Maps to navigate offline. This is useful for driving, walking, and cycling, but not when it comes to navigating public transport because it will require an internet connection; this also applies to live traffic navigation as the service reports disruptions along their route.

What is the issue with data roaming?

International visitors to the United Kingdom (UK), especially London, need internet connectivity on their smartphones, but with the lack of public Wi-Fi they are unable to use the internet because they could face expensive roaming fees on their phone bill by their mobile network operator.

Here’s a montage of tweets I’ve found on Twitter.

Here’s a news report from Ireland’s RTÉ News on Three Mobile Ireland customers facing excessive bills for roaming outside the EU.

This issue also applies vice versa for British tourists travelling to different countries around the world.

I believe no one should be penalised with expensive phone bills for accessing the internet on their smartphone while they are in a different country.

Reasons why inclusive roaming is important.

International visitors need internet data on their smartphone to download a local transport journey planning app such as Transport for London (TfL) Go, Transport for Ireland (TFI) Live App, Dubai Metro, MyTransport.SG, MyMapHK, Public Transport Victoria, Los Angeles Metro and Bus, and more.

Some tourists might be on a budget and they don't see any use in buying a UK SIM card for short stays. They prefer to stay connected with their home country provider to receive phone calls, and many people don't have a smartphone with a dual-SIM or eSIM compatibility to pay for an eSim provider for data. To purchase an eSIM, internet connection is required to buy data with an eSIM provider. Certain people are unable to swap over to a local SIM because their mobile phone is SIM locked to a mobile network, and it requires unlocking to allow their mobile phone to switch to a different network by changing SIM cards.

Meanwhile the UK Government has recently launched the Transport Data Strategy to provide better access to journey planning apps on smartphones. This is good for domestic users, but not international visitors as they need internet connection on their smartphones.

Mobile data is also needed to access their banking app to check their balance, purchase and use e-tickets on public transport and/or attractions, use a virtual smartcard that is available in certain public transport areas, use a translator app, contact friends and relatives on messaging apps, and more. Inclusive data roaming may also be environmentally friendly, as it could minimise paper usage for tickets, maps, etc. and plastic waste for smartcards.

If I'm travelling abroad, how would I be able to download an app (from the tweet below) to access local journey planning as I'm unable to use my mobile data due to expensive roaming fees (or no credit for international roaming) and a lack of public Wi-Fi?

Public Wi-Fi tends to be limited as some require registration, and some people do not wish to share their personal details with the company. Also, some public Wi-Fi requires a small payment to access these services.

As for Wi-Fi on Transport for London (TfL) services, all London Underground (Tube) stations, nearly all London Overground stations, all Elizabeth line stations under Central London, and Victoria Coach Station have Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, international tourists won't be able to access these Wi-Fi services as they are only available to selected UK mobile network operators and only for their customers.

As Vodafone UK relaunched their Wi-Fi service on the London Underground, I asked them the question ‘if overseas/non-UK Vodafone customers could use their Wi-Fi service’... and this is the answer from their social media team:

I’ve also asked a similar question to Three Mobile UK on Twitter.

As for O2 UK, on their website it says: “While anyone can use O2 Wifi, you must be an O2 mobile customer to use Wifi on the Underground. If you registered for O2 Wifi using a number from another network, then you won't be able to use Wifi on the Underground from O2.” So it seems this is exclusive to O2 UK customers only, but not overseas customers of mobile network operators which are part of the Telefónica family. I’ve also asked them on Twitter, but unfortunately they haven’t got back to me with an answer. 

Update, April 11 April 2023: O2 UK has answered me on Twitter via direct message, stating: "We're not sure about this one we're afraid. To be safe, we'd say it would likely need to be a UK number, as you need to register when it prompts you. Sorry for any inconvenience."

TfL is increasing mobile phone coverage inside the London Underground and Elizabeth line tunnels, and this is beneficial to the average commuter who is subscribed to a UK mobile network operator, but not for various international visitors as they are unable to use their mobile data due to expensive roaming fees. Irish mobile network operators however, such as Eir, Three Mobile Ireland, and Vodafone Ireland still provide surcharge-free roaming in the UK.

That means international visitors without internet connection on their smartphone won’t be able to download and use the ‘TfL Go’ app to use the journey planner and navigate the system.

In Paris, France, the RATP (Paris Metro) provides unrestricted Wi-Fi free of charge in 96 stations. Also, the transport systems in Berlin, Germany, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc. provide free Wi-Fi.

Public Wi-Fi is not usually safe due to hackers potentially gaining access to people's devices, although the UK Police (Action Fraud) advise users to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) when connecting to public Wi-Fi to reduce the risk of getting hacked.

My recommendation and solution

Mobile operators should be providing data roaming allowance as standard (and without any fees) on all of their packages and deals for their customers visiting different countries to allow them to access their essential apps which require an internet connection.

The minimum amount for mobile network operators worldwide to provide inclusive, surcharge-free international (not just the EU/EEA) data roaming with fair use agreements to their customers, should be at least a minimum of 2GB (or at least 1GB) of inclusive data roaming allowance as an international standard to make it more reasonable, equal and fair to access the internet in different countries and to allow the tourist to download a local journey planning app on the go and to buy e-tickets to travel.

Mobile network operators should advise their customers when they roam not to use too much of their data roaming allowance on apps such as YouTube and Netflix, or downloading large files, etc. These require a huge amount of data and the allowance should only be used for essential purposes such as journey planning, navigation, translator, messaging, etc.

Smartphone users should be advised to use data save mode and turn off background data on Android (Google) or enable low data mode on Apple devices, as this is useful for users with low data allowances.

I do understand that mobile operators face interconnectivity costs with mobile networks from different countries. The solution does exist though for all mobile operators to provide inclusive, surcharge-free data roaming for customers using their smartphone device in another country. They should adopt blockchain to keep wholesale roaming fees low. A number of major multi-national mobile operator networks (i.e. Telefónica (O2), Vodafone etc.) already use that system. You can read more about blockchain for wholesale roaming on the GSMA website.

Last year in America, T-Mobile collaborated with Elon Musk's SpaceX to provide mobile coverage by satellites to hotspots that are not covered by mobile signals and to potentially provide reciprocal roaming around the world. You can read more about the project on the T-Mobile website.

UK mobile operator GiffGaff (part of O2 and owned by Telefónica) provides 5GB of data roaming allowance in the European Union (EU) and certain European Economic Area (EEA) countries (unfortunately the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are not covered, despite being a Crown Dependency and a part the Common Travel Area), and it has a fair use policy where roaming is allowed for up to 63 days in a four-month period, which is dedicated to short stays abroad. If the customer overused the roaming fair use, then they need to provide proof of residency in the UK.

EU law on roaming within the EU and selected EEA member countries does allow a fair use policy to monitor the customers usage on roaming within the EU and selected EEA member countries. I believe the same policy should apply to all countries worldwide, not just the EU and EEA member countries, as this will help mobile operators monitor the usage by their customers.

If people want more data for YouTube, Netflix, or various social media apps at a heavy use, then they should purchase an out-of-plan bolt-on provided by their mobile network operator (one example is from Smarty Mobile UK), or an eSim data service if their smartphone device is compatible, or purchase a local or an International SIM card for increased data allowance or WiFi provided by their hotel or restaurant, etc. If the mobile operator provides a bolt-on for data roaming, then they should automatically apply the bolt-on once the user goes over their data roaming allowance; this method is similar to Pay As You Go (PAYG) daily and weekly caps used on TfL’s Oyster and Contactless payment system.

Although the UK is no longer part of the European Union, which once guaranteed surcharge-free roaming in the EU, certain UK mobile networks still provide surcharge-free inclusive data roaming, whilst some networks such as EE, Three Mobile UK, and Vodafone UK, charge a £2 per-day roaming charge fee. Meanwhile, certain mobile networks in European Union countries have reinstated roaming fees for customers visiting the UK. Last year, the European Union extended their EU roaming regulations for another 10 years, and you might be interested to read the EU directive on the EUR-Lex website.

Very recently, the UK Government passed secondary legislation to reinstate surcharge-free roaming for UK customers visiting Iceland and Norway as they are members of the EEA and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Before the UK had left the EU, the UK Government did propose to the EU “a continuation of reciprocal agreements between the UK and EU for surcharge free roaming, or a review clause to consider the need for these should roaming surcharges return for consumers”, as part of the Draft Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU. The EU did not agree to either of these proposals, although the final agreement states:

Article 181

International mobile roaming

1. The Parties shall endeavour to cooperate on promoting transparent and reasonable rates for international mobile roaming services in ways that can help promote the growth of trade among the Parties and enhance consumer welfare.

[...]

4. Nothing in this Article shall require a Party to regulate rates or conditions for international mobile roaming services.

Certain mobile network operators in the EU have already reinstated roaming fees for customers visiting the UK. Examples are: LMT in Lithuania, Telia in Finland, Orange in Spain, and Telenor in Sweden.

Virgin Media O2 is the last UK major operator network to provide inclusive EU roaming as standard for their UK customers travelling to the EU and selected EEA countries. You may also be interested in reading their survey, which is linked on their tweet below.

Why did I write this article?

As mentioned in my article, I've decided to contribute to the London Travelwatch campaign on Digital Exclusion on Twitter to help raise awareness of international visitors to London and other areas of the UK, and vice versa.

The purpose of this article is to provide solutions for mobile network operators to provide inclusive data roaming allowances for customers travelling abroad. As I suggest, this should be set as an international standard for all mobile network operators worldwide to enhance connectivity for their customers and to allow them to use the basic things that require data.

Although I did mention in my previous article that “I’m not a heavy smartphone user as I only use it when making/receiving phone calls, texts and checking maps and travel updates when I go out.”

I also understand that 'Brexit' is a controversial and a sensitive issue, and I do not wish to get involved with this type of politics for various reasons. The whole purpose of my website is for me to express my views about public transport as this interlinks with modern technology, including the internet and data.

Keep in mind that I'm not an expert on mobile networks and internet data; I'm only a researcher, and I'm expressing my suggestion to help overseas commuters (and vice versa) to navigate the transport network in London and elsewhere. Most importantly, my suggestion will benefit disabled users (wheelchair users in particular) from overseas (and vice versa) when they need to use an app provided by a local transport authority or organisation to find a specific journey suitable for their mobility needs.

If anyone (including representatives and senior management of mobile network operating companies, campaign groups, elected representatives, etc.) wishes to take my suggestion on board, you're welcome, and don't forget to share this article on social media and elsewhere (including mobile network operators, organisations, elected representatives, government ministers, etc.) to help spread the word.

You might be interested in reading my article from last year about my suggestion that TfL should reform the Travelcard Agreement to provide new smart ticketing and to enhance integration with other transport services.

Update January 2024

I invite you to follow me on Twitter by searching for @CLondoner92 or by clicking on the direct link to my Twitter page here.

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